


Givers Beget

by AwayLaughing



Series: All The Days That Have Passed [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Gift Giving, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 15:43:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1863321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwayLaughing/pseuds/AwayLaughing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shikamaru can't seem to keep his curiosity, nor his excitement, to himself. Neji most certainly doesn't mind providing the latter, even if he hadn't quite planned it that way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Givers Beget

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge from [here](http://awayandlaughing.tumblr.com/post/68217772129/30-day-otp-challenge-for-the-fluff-impaired)
> 
> Day 5 - Sharing Toys

Shikamaru almost didn't notice the box on the table, too tired from spending the last week pandering to diplomats in the capital. For a moment, he considered ignoring it. It was obviously Neji's, Shikamaru could see the receipt from one of his favoured weapon's depots in Takigakure. In fact, it was not even that he considered ignoring it – he outright tried to. It was not his after all, and even though it was on his kitchen table, he didn't have an inherent right to poke around Neji's stuff. Chances were he just stopped by Shikamaru for something after his own mission, maybe to pick something up or other. Maybe he even meant to give it to Tenten. His house was closer to her than Neji's after all. In fact it's closer to pretty much everything.

 

In the end it was all futile however. Shinobi weren't renowned for an overwhelming respect for private property. And really, it wasn't even locked let alone sealed. It was practically an invite to poke around. After five minutes of arguing the pros and cons of blatant privacy violation, he gave up, and was momentarily disappointed.

 

It was just senbon, quality senbon, granted, but just senbon in the end. No interesting new prototypes, or so he thought up until he shifted and the light bounced off the end he'd originally mistaken for a plain pointed end. Frowning, he picked one up, trailing a finger over the end, feeling the groove in it. Peering closer, he could see the end was hollow. For a very brief few seconds he was stumped – then it hit him.

 

Grinning, he settled on top of the table, inspecting each senbon one by one. They weren't plain senbon at all. They were meant to carry poisons, from what he could tell. It wasn't surprising, really. Kusa was surrounded by large swaths of swamp land, rife with plant and animal life which was either poisonous, venomous and in some notable cases both. Wandering over to the cabinet, he reached up for the one above the oven, safe from both the food and the medical supplies. Pulling out a tiny bottle of purple-red liquid.

 

The poison came in small vials not due to rarity – Ino had some of the fruit in her backyard – but because it didn't require much to take effect. As a poison proper it wasn't much use for killing a target, it would take the whole vial he now held to do much of anything as far as death went. In a fight however, it was beyond helpful. It was fast acting, taking about a minute to set in, starting with dizziness and eventually with mild hallucinations.

 

It fell out of favour during the third war as people preferred something they dump in a well and wipe a garrison out with. The Nara clan, however, had never been one to throw aside a perfectly useful tool. By the time the fourth war came and went, it was back on the mass production line. Shikamaru wasn't out to poison anyone right now, however. All he wanted was to test one of the senbon. Dipping it into the vial, he was careful not to go far beyond the groove which funnelled the liquid into the tip for risk of allowing the poison to touch his skin.

 

Pulling it out he tapped the senbon, dislodging the small droplet hanging on the tip. To his pleasure, no more liquid came forth. Tipping it, he watched it drain out. Out of interest he inspected the inside. The senbon would need to be washed before a new poison could be used, but it would be fine with a repeat performance of the same liquid in it. Again he repeated dipping it in and pulling it out. This time, he set an apple on the counter, flicking the senbon toward it carefully. It flew true, embedding itself in the apple. Jumping off the table he padded over to inspect his test. Pulling the senbon out he could see it was drained, more effeciantly than before.

 

Interesting. Scooping up the box and vial he exited the house, intent on studying further.

 

* * *

 

 

Neji entered Shikamaru's house, barely noting that Shikamaru was home, flak jacket throw haphazardly on the couch. Picking it up, he hung it on the door, leaving it open and protected only by the storm door.

 

“You really should not throw your protective gear about,” he called out, cocking his head to try and figure out where he was. Silence greeted him and he shook his head. Bedroom, most likely. Imagine his surprise, then, when he opened the door and the bed was empty. It was even made, which lead to the assumption Yoshino had come through the clean the place in Shikamaru's absence, and that Shikamaru hadn't so much as taken a nap upon coming home. Frowning, he left, wondering if he'd passed out at the table, or something as equally likely.

 

As it turned out, the kitchen was empty too, missing both Shikamaru and in an even odder twist, his new senbon. Frowning harder, he beelined for the door to the back porch. Outside was his box, balanced on the rail, and Shikamaru, standing at one end of the garden, flicking senbon in rapid succession. He obviously made note of Neji, eyes flicking toward him, but he didn't turn until the last of the senbon were in the target at the end of the garden.

 

“You're a bit off,” Neji said, noting that Shikamaru's hits were less clustered than usual. Shikamaru nodded, looking a little sheepish.

 

“The weight is a bit off, once poison is added,” he said. “And uh, sorry. Not mine I know.”

 

They weren't, of course. He'd bought them on a whim, since he didn't generally both with senbon. If he needed a weapon for any reason, his go to weapons were kunai or a katana, though the second was a relatively new preference. Still, he offered a tiny nod to the box.

 

“Not at all, it's a gift.” Shikamaru raised an eye brow.

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Really,” Neji said, stepping forward so he was on the step above Shikamaru. Pressing a kiss to the top of his head he smiled when Shikamaru looked up.

 

“Tadaima.”

 

“Okaeri, Shikamaru.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> What? Senbon are totally toys to a ninja. And uh, feel free to comment! The radio silence on the reader's end is actually a little disconcerting.


End file.
